NCC may be a subject in UP govt schools

National Cadet Corps (NCC) training would no longer be just an extra-curricular activity.

After select institution under the UGC and CBSE, the state-run schools might also offer it as a compulsory elective subject.

A decision in this regard was taken in the joint state representative and additional/ deputy director general (JSR&D) conference of the NCC held in Delhi last week, said Lt Gen PS Bhalla, director general, NCC during his visit to the state capital on Monday.

“All the state representatives and deputy director generals who participated in the meeting agreed on the proposal in principle and decided to take it up with the respective state governments,” added the DG.

Bhalla said the step would not only help students earn credit points in their academic results, it would also make NCC more meaningful and attractive.

He said a proposal on this has also been sent to UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

“We have already done it for CBSE-affiliated schools, but the majority of Indian youth is enrolled in government-run institutions. So, we want to replicate it there so that it is more effective. When NCC is taught as a subject, students would take it seriously. It would enable us to enrol the best cadets among the lot,” added Lt Gen Bhalla.

Elucidating the measures taken to reform the NCC, Bhalla said the focus has been on the implementation of refined training philosophy with greater emphasis on personality development, in keeping with the aspirations of the youth.

He said that the Centre has decided to add 2 lakh more cadets to the NCC, taking the strength of the country’s lone military youth movement to 15 lakh from the existing 13 lakh by 2016.

“In the first phase of expansion, we are raising two battalions -- one boys and one girls -- in Uttar Pradesh. Besides, two more battalions would be raised in Jhansi and Farrukhabad in the later phases,” he added.

To the question of whether the motivation levels of NCC cadets were going down or not, Bhalla said: “Last year, 324 cadets made it to the prestigious military academies. And this speaks volumes about the motivation levels.”

With a strength of nearly 1.2 lakh cadets comprising 28,000 female cadets, UP is the largest among 17 directorates of the country covering 65 districts, 1,114 niversities, schools and colleges.